Caught a wild Yeast! What should I make?

I brewed a lager over the weekend and left my sample I took for the OG on the counter for a few days. Yesterday SWMBO pointed out the we had some pretty active fermentaion going on the counter and I didn't pitch the yeast in the sample. There was a nice krausen on top and a ton of activity. I am going to let it finish out, cool and step it up but I want to know what I should make? Just going to do a 1 gl batch- maybe a pale?

I am sure others have caught wild yeast and experimented. Any successes, failures, or advice on what I should make would be appreciated. I bet it tastes awful but it'll be a fun experiment.

Brew a full batch and reserve a quart or two to ferment separately with your wild yeast (ferment the rest with "normal" yeast). If it's bad, not much marginal time & effort wasted. If it's good, you just made a starter.

EDIT: Something ~1.040 and lightly hopped, IMO. You don't want to hide the yeast character.

Agreed. Something simple (like a blonde) so you can let the yeast really shine through.

Good call!

I have a porter in the works and IPA's are always aound the corner. but I could switch it to a blonde pretty easily.

That sounds awesome. All i've ever caught from left out work is mold.

manoaction said:

That sounds awesome. All i've ever caught from left out work is mold.

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that's a lot better that catching wild yeasts in a short period of time.

OP, while it's pretty cool that ya caught something in a wort sample, the fact that there's that something in such numbers that it can begin fermenting a sample that quickly floating around in your house should lead you to think of upping the sanitation regimen. not that it's not cool and all, and i totally think you should ferment something with it to see what ya got, but i definitely wouldn't want wild yeast or bugs flying around my brewery. i like to buy those in packs and use them in a manner that they never come near my other brews.

Sanitation isn't an issue in my brew house, maybe above my kitchen sink after a brew day. I brewed outside on Sunday and the sample is just enough to take the hydro reading then left it on my counter above my kitchen sink close to the only plant my wife and I can keep alive. I had seen it happen there before so I have been trying to catch something again for a while. Active fermantation happened sometime yesterday and the sample was reading 1.056 prior to it taking off. The lager I made hasn't taken off yet but that's another story that I am not worried about.

geer537 said:

Sanitation isn't an issue in my brew house, maybe above my kitchen sink after a brew day. I brewed outside on Sunday and the sample is just enough to take the hydro reading then left it on my counter above my kitchen sink close to the only plant my wife and I can keep alive. I had seen it happen there before so I have been trying to catch something again for a while. Active fermantation happened sometime yesterday and the sample was reading 1.056 prior to it taking off. The lager I made hasn't taken off yet but that's another story that I am not worried about.

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ah, that makes sense then. houseplant, sink, etc. wonder what ya caught there, if you do try to ferment something with it, post a thread for sure. it'd be neat to see how it turns out.

subbed

I tried attaching a pic I took last night. When it stops I'll throw it in the fridge and step it up a few times then pull off some wort from another batch as suggested.

That's awesome! Good luck!

NordeastBrewer77 said:

that's a lot better that catching wild yeasts in a short period of time.

OP, while it's pretty cool that ya caught something in a wort sample, the fact that there's that something in such numbers that it can begin fermenting a sample that quickly floating around in your house should lead you to think of upping the sanitation regimen. not that it's not cool and all, and i totally think you should ferment something with it to see what ya got, but i definitely wouldn't want wild yeast or bugs flying around my brewery. i like to buy those in packs and use them in a manner that they never come near my other brews.

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I would almost guarantee that if any of us left an unfermented wort sample around, uncovered, it would spontaneously ferment.

See that sunlight coming through your window, illuminating all that falling dust? Tons of wild yeast and bacteria are aboard. It's nothing new - your house is dirty.

You'd be surprised. I have left about 10-12 samples out over the last 2 years at different seasons and only have had 2 spontaneous ferments- one was tossed while cleaning because SWMBO didn't know what I was up to. She gives me a week now.

As far as the house being dirty- I don't think it's Sanitary but the floors are clean enough to eat off of. We aren't slobs or hoarders. I'll give you the fact that there are tons of organisms in anyone's house but not all of them take off. I kind of feel like I am defending my families cleaning practices here.

PseudoChef said:

I would almost guarantee that if any of us left an unfermented wort sample around, uncovered, it would spontaneously ferment.

See that sunlight coming through your window, illuminating all that falling dust? Tons of wild yeast and bacteria are aboard. It's nothing new - your house is dirty.

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thanks for the news flash. i know wild yeast and bacteria live in the air all around us. i was commenting on the speed in which this happened. i've left wort samples out in various places around the house, including the bathroom for longer periods of time, upwards of a week, to try and 'catch things'. there was no spontaneous anything. i was not saying that the things weren't there in everyones home, just that it about how fast they took hold in the OP's scenario.

wait, yeast is small enough to float around? wtf...

So what did the fermentation smell like? Any thoughts on learning some microbiology and trying to isolate a pure culture if you end up with a tasty product? I think spontaneous fermentation is cool.

thought: you might want to step up that yeast sample. dunno if you have enough cells to ferment a batch, even for a gallon.

Actually did not smell off, it was a bit sweet but not bad. I don't know if I am smart enough to get in the Micro Biological side to isolate pure cultures but if it turns out, I'll send some one a bottle if they want to harvest the yeast.

I do plan on stepping it up. Once it finishes, I'll put it in the fridge, decant, and pitch onto maybe a 1.020 and start moving up from there

NordeastBrewer77 said:

thanks for the news flash. i know wild yeast and bacteria live in the air all around us. i was commenting on the speed in which this happened. i've left wort samples out in various places around the house, including the bathroom for longer periods of time, upwards of a week, to try and 'catch things'. there was no spontaneous anything. i was not saying that the things weren't there in everyones home, just that it about how fast they took hold in the OP's scenario.

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Yeah, I wondered about the speed as well. Thing is, even if this is a wild ferment, leaving it out opened it up to other things. He'd really have to plate this and try and isolate the yeast from whatever else might be in there at this point. Just growing up a starter will grow all sorts of 'stuff'.

HMMM- good point Hermit. That's kind of a buzz kill. I am going to try it anyway as I didn't have high hopes from the beginning of it even tasting decent. I would not know where to begin learning to plate and isolate one yeast strain let alone knowing what the good vs. the bad would look like.

Still gonna try it. Crossing my fingers and I'll let you all know if anything tastes decent

Very interested in the results